Good Fences, Good Neighbours……..??

They do say that good fences make for good neighbours. But for something so seemingly simple the fences are sure causing issues.

How can it be so hard to run a straight line between two fixed points?

I must say that it is not actually the neighbours that have cause the issues, just the contractors that have been hired to put up the fences. We have three fences around our property, two of which have been installed on a slight diagonal which run over the property line and encroach onto our site, 10 cms on one side and 40cm at the rear boundary. WTF.

The fence on the side has now been relocated after a two hour consult with all neighbours involved and the contractor responsible, involving multiple sets of plans and tape measures. All resulting in the realisation that the contractor instead of installing the fence over the survey peg which marked the boundary he went around it, on our side of course (he couldn't go wrong the other way as the neighbours pool was already installed, the fence now runs almost over the concrete slab for the pool, talk about close!).

Luckily is is on the side we will hardly see as although it now runs along the boundary I think it is a little wonky along the top.


The rear fence has yet to be moved that one may take a little longer to move as that one belongs to the developer who already has tenants living there and it will involve moving the clothes line and digging up the landscaping.

Deep breaths and wine, lots of wine!

But the garage door is looking great, ties the house into the rest of the neighbourhood who have gone with mostly mocha-ish bricks.

AA xx

The Big Blue and Yellow Store

The builder is making great progress on the build, the tiler is done, the painter has started, the flooring guys are booked so more decisions to be made, this time about window coverings and light shades, just so I know what I want when the time comes and I don't delay things with faffing about.

To try and keep cost from spiralling out of control as the build comes to an end I have limited myself to selecting these items from the big blue and yellow box otherwise know as Ikea.

I paid them a visit after my site visit this week so in line with my clean light bright choices so far, this is what I am thinking of;

For the 3 big windows in the living / dining area, simple curtains,

In the two smaller bedrooms, white roman blinds,

And in the master bedroom which is also at the front of the house a layered treatment to provide a little more privacy, with either roller blind or the honeycomb type with curtains, in a similar style to the living area.

I haven't decided yet if I want something for the window in the kitchen, if I do it will be either of the two above on its own.


























As for lighting, we have already specified the pendant lights over the island bench and the feature light over the dining area with down lights for the rest of the living area, I just need to find shades for the bedrooms, but not hanging pendant lights which most of the nicer shades seem to be designed for.

This style came in a couple of different sizes which might work and so it is the winner so far, the weaving around the edges should work with the hanging "nest" style over the dining area,

However one of these might tie in with the frosted glass over the kitchen benches,

So I think the final decision will have to wait until the rest of the lights are installed, I will then have to make a snap final judgment.

How about you any preferences with my options?

AAxx

Progress Update III

The sustained good weather in Sydney has meant that the builders have been able to be on site and stay on site. Yay!! Happy dance!!

So after the slab went down the frame went up
 

The roof tiles went on

And currently the bricks are going on

We are not 100% convinced we made the right decision in regards to the bricks but they do look better the more that go on. If worst comes to worst and we are not happy once everything is finished we can always render the entire thing.

Now we just need to sort out the earthworks in the rear yard while we still have access. Keeping my fingers crossed  that the neighbors on that side are holding off for some reason so we don't have to rush things over the holiday season.

AA xx

Finally….

After a very, very long wait we finally have actual sustained progress on our site.

Week One

Week Two

I have bided my time before getting too excited and sharing this news as the last time I got excited over progress I was a tad premature, but this time the builders have been onsite two whole weeks and visible progress has been made week to week.

Below is a timeline of the progress so far, with a projected completion date. Everyone has been telling me that it should be finished well before then but I'm not so sure, we have a 5 week close down over Christmas to take into consideration between now and then, so as not to get (bloody pissed off) frustrated with the progress and any further delays, which there will be, I will work with the outside figure thank you very much.

AA xx

Property Update….

Taking advantage to another gorgeous Sydney winters day we took the pups out to the land to have a look at the progress made on the neighbouring lots.

Patience is a virtue, Patience is a virtue,

Patience is a Virtue

They do say that patience is a virtue but my patience is being severely tested by Liverpool council at the moment. Apparently they have a back log, apparently they are understaffed, apparently they are doing all they can.

Our application has been in council for 6 weeks now. Thats six, count that, 1,2,3,4,5,6  whole weeks and has yet to allocated for assessment. We were told that it should take six weeks to process, total. So it should have been processed by now, we should be moving on to the next stage, but no, we are still waiting.

So I am becoming virtuous (well close enough) and I am waiting, patiently. Trying to distract myself (I'll show you next time, promise) and show restraint.

Or Alternately,

AA xx

The Heart of a Home

They do say that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. This means that these two areas have the potential to completely blow out budgets. But the same as the rest of the house we had quite strong ideas of what  we wanted before meeting with the builder.

design-crisis.com house tour -jeff and jasons 

decorpad.com

ninawilliamsinteriors.com

stevesblindsandwallpaper.com

We wanted  clean white spaces with charcoal for depth and contrast, Caesar stone bench tops, pendant lights over the kitchen bench, glass splash back in the kitchen; so much easier to clean than tiles! Super functional sink, lots of storage. Subway tiles in the ensuite bathroom, but we weren't sure if we wanted the same tiles in both the bathroom as the laundry.

Decisions, decisions

The first lot of decisions we had to make were about the external house colours.
Luckily these decisions  were reasonably easy. We had a clear vision in mind before we went trekking, and I mean trekking, 7 hours, all the freeways, I lost track of the of the number of toll points (or went into denial about, ker-ching!) we went through, all on a beautiful, hot, Sydney Saturday to view roof tiles, brick suppliers, garage doors, and more brick suppliers.

How do you choose?

After making the purchase, unlike buying a house, the fun really starts, you need to start making big decisions and relatively quickly. Who are you going to build with? Single storey, double story, or split level? Where on the land? Do you want to have room for a pool?